Method of supplying air to interiors.



A. R. KLEIN.

METHOD OF SUPPLYING AIR T0 INTERIORS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2| I915.

9 1 9 1 L 1 m d m/ I. i M c a K A TTOR/VEY EDLSTATES PATENT oFFIoE;

Amer a. KLEIN, or new YORK,- n. Y.

METHOD OF SUPPLYIN'G AIR TO INTERIORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

. Application filed August 2, i915. Serial No. 43,197.

To all whom it may concern:

' it appertains to make and use the same.

v For ventilating and heating or cooling interiors, such as large offices, hospitals, schools, 'auditoriums, mills, workshops, etc,

- it is customary to use theblast system, by

which currents of air are discharged into on ,zone of the interior, usually above the had's of the occupants, and insome cases drawn out or discharged at desirable places. I

In this way, the air of'the interior may be changed frequently and the fresh air may be conditioned, if desired, to the desired temperature, humidity and purity. Furthermore, when the air is drawn out from the.

interior, it may form art of the fresh air,

. thereby reducingthe size of the heating apparatus required during cold weather, and

it may then be recirculated either with or without being purified.

Prior systems of this kind have several objectionable feature. I In discharging heated air into the interior, provision must be made to compel the air to pass through the zone of occupancy in which the; occupants are located. If the air is discharged near the floor level to meet this require ment, the rising currents produce drafts and introduce other discomforts, unless uneco-- nomically low velocity and temperature are employed which, however, render the system expensive in first cost and in operation owand the conditioning apparatus.

ing to the unduly large size of the conduits In resorting to the usual overhead blast system to reduce the size of the apparatus and the cost of operation, the tendency of the heated air to rise from the inlets is overcome in some measure by forcing it downwardly by high ve. locity from the inlets located but little above However, even the heads of the occupants.

' where the inlets are located twelve to eighteen feet above the floor, as is usual in industrial buildings, the velocity into the interior should not ordlnarily exceed 300 feet per minute, and the temperature at the inlets should not ordinarily exceed 120 F, for otherwise the air currents aretoostrong and too hot "for comfort. Toavoid these conditions, th air 1s sometimeswithdrawn from the interior near the floor level so as to being about an effective circulation and change of the air within the zone of occupancy, but this additional feature necessitates return conduits of large size extendmg back to the source of the system and in some cases additional fans, thereby again increasing the first cost of, installation and the cost of operation;

My invention embodies a method of ventilatlng, or ventilating and heating or cooling interiors, applicable to the blast system in such manner as to retain the advantages of that system and to remove the prior objections to cost or else to strong aircurrents and uncomfortable hot or cold blasts in the zone of'occupancy in both large and small interiors, and it permits the use of conditioning, circulating and distributing systems which are considerably reduced in size and less expensive in operation. I attain these objects broadly by tempering just prior to entry into the interior, considerably heated or cooled freshair with other air from the 7 interior, and discharging the mixed air into the interlor; and in the preferred methodwithin my invention, the current of fresh air 'having comparatively high velocity or comparatively high pressure, or both, is caused to induce a regulated quantity of air from one zone, usually the lower zone near the floor o-flthe interior, to a place. ofmixture with the fresh air near theinlet to another 7 zone of the interior, usually an upper zone thereof above the heads of the occupants. In the application of this preferred method to large interiors, the current of fresh air is sub-divided, inducing separate air, currents from one zone of the interior to places of mixture, and the mixtures are discharged at separated places into another zone of the interior. In'heating systems, the fresh'air may have a considerably higher temperature than formerly because it is mixed with a large volume of cooler air from the interior just prior to entry into the interior, and the velocity ofthe fresh air to the place of mixture, or the pressure, or both, may be considerably higher than formerly because its velocity or.

pressure is reduced by the other air which mixes with it; thereby reducing thesize and cost of the circulating, condltlonlng and distrlbut-ing systems on account of the higher velocity and temperature of the fresh midified air is discharged 1nt0 the interior during warm weather.

In addition to the foregoing economies effected by tempering the fresh air justprior to entry into the interior with a large volume of air having the tegaperature of the interior,

the preferred meth herein disclosed effects improved ventilation and uniformity of' heating and cooling in the zone of occupancy by taking the tempering air from the lower zone of the interior, thereby drawing the mixed air entering the room in a down ward direction throughout the zone of occupancy without causing discomforting currents. Furthermore, the use of fans for drawing the air from theone zone of the interior and forcing it to the place or places of mixture with thefresh air is avoided in my preferred method by causing the fresh air to induce suitable currents of air from that zone into mixture with it.

The accompanyin drawings illustrate in elevation, two embo iments suitable for car- 1 rying out .the preferred method of operation within my invention. "In these drawings,

Figure 1 represents a transverse section of an interior havin wall and fioor conduits for directing an air current thereinto;

Fig. 2 represents .in transverse section, and Fig. 3 in longitudinal section, an industrial shop provided with hanging flues for directing the air currents thereinto; and

Fig. 4 is a larger view of the injector shown in the flues of Figs. 2 and 3.

In the wall and floor conduit system of Fig. 1, fresh air is drawn by a fan from the outside of the interior, or from the inside, or from both the outside and inside, in-amounts regulated by the valves or dampers 1, and

is forced through a water spray or other cleansing or 'humidifying apparatus and into contact with the heating or cooling ap-.

paratus, all of which apparatus, including the fan, is indicated by the reference 2.- The fresh air then passes through the floor con duit 3 and through the injector 4: or other device suitable for inducing a current of air into the wallconduit 5 through the outlet injector 4 just prior to entry of the mixture into the upper zone of the interior at the tions.

In the flue system of Figs. 2 and 3, the fresh air, drawn from the outside, or from the inside, or from both places, in amounts regulated by-the valve or damper 1, is forced by a fan through the conditioning apparatus as in Fig. 1, and thence through the overhead distributing flue 9. In the case of alarge interior, the current offresh air in the dis tributing flue 9is sub-divided at a suitable number ofplaces throughout the room and each sub-divided current is directed through an injector 4, thereby inducing separate currents of air through the vertical flues 10- which extend from the lower zone of the in-' terior to the places of mixture with. the fresh air just prior to entry of the mixture into the interior. The mixtures are then directed into the upper zone of the interior A at separated places, as may also be the case in Fig. 1. K

In both systems .hereinbefore described, the air from the lower zone of the interior should preferably enter the outlets 6 at four feet or less above the floor level, and the mixed air should preferably be directed into the upper zone of the interior above the heads of the occupants, that is, six to eighteen feet above the floor level, depending upon the purpose'of the interior and the number of inlets 8, and also upon other conditions Well known in the art. The air drawn through the outlets i6from the lower zone of the interior, aids materially in producing a downward movement of the mixed air from the inlets'8, thereby reducing the velocity of entry necessary for overcoming the natural tendency of the heated air to rise to the ceiling, and it also effects more uniformly 110 distributed ventilation and heating or cooling of the air in the zone between the floor and the inlets 8 By means of the valves or dampers 1, 7

and 11, the temperature, velocity, humidity and other characteristics of the mixtures dione-half to nine-tenths of the mixture will be supplied from the lower zone of the interior, while the proportional amountstaken from the outside and theinside to make up the fresh air will depend upon the outside temperature and other well known condi As-a result of the factthat a compara- 1 30 tively large volume of air from the interior is mixed with the fresh air just prior to entry into the interior, the temperature of the fresh air may be considerably different from the temperature of the mixture enter-. ing the interior, and the velocity or pressure,

exceed 120 F., which was formerly considered as the upper limit of temperature in ordinary blast systems; likewise the prior limit of velocity of the fresh air of 300 feet per minute in ordinary blast systems may be considerably exceeded on account of the reduction of velocity occurring just prior to entry into the interior, and the effect of the current of air drawn fromthe interior. The temperature to which the air is cooled, when the system is used for cooling interiors, may be as low as 40 F., and the temperature to which the air is heated, when the system is used for heating interiors, may be as high as 1,000 F., on account of the mixture with the cooled or heated air of a comparatively large volume of air from the interior just prior to entry into the interior,

- as aforesaid. Also the pressure given to the air may be one-fiftieth of an ounce to four ounces, and the velocity may be one hundred feet per minute to ten thousand feet per minute, depending upon the conditions obtaining in the system. These characteristic difierences considerably cheapen the entire circulating, conditioning and distributing systems, and also reduce the cost of operation to a marked degree. The air in the zone of occupancy may be changed more frequently than heretofore, even where return conduits were installed, because the air and discharge the mixture into the lower zone. I.

It is apparent that any suitable" form of injector may be used for my purpose, or the air from the interior may, if deslred, be

forced to the place of mixture with the fresh air by means of fans. Also, if desired, the

Y air drawn from the interior may becleansed or conditioned before mixture withthe fresh air, or it, together with the fresh air, may

Furthemore, the air drawn from one interior. may be mixed with fresh air and discharged into another interior.

Having thus described my invention,

what I claim is:

1. The method of supplying air to interiors and of effecting circulation of such air through the zone of occupancy, which comprises withdrawing air from the interior into a suitable.conduit, combining therewith a current of fresh air and dis charging the resulting mixture into the interior, the current of fresh air being caused to effect the withdrawal of the air from the interior and to induce the circulation thereof-through the conduit and into the interior, and the air being withdrawn and introduced at different levels so that circulation thereof is efiected through the zone of 00- cupancy.

2. The method of modifying the condition able conduit, discharging a jet of fresh air into said conduit at a temperature differing greatly from the temperature of the air withdrawn and thereby effecting intermixture of the withdrawn air and of the fresh air and inducing circulation of the withdrawn air through the conduit, and discharging the resulting mixture into the in terior at.a different level from the level of withdrawal, the intermixture of the withdrawn air and of the fresh air resulting in a modification of the temperature of the withdrawn air, and the levels of withdrawal and introduction of the air being such as to cause circulation through the zone of 00-- cupancy.

3. The method of supplying air to interiors and of effecting circulation of such air through the zone of occupancy, which comprises withdrawing air from near the bottom of the interior into a suitable conduit extending to a higher level substantially above the zone of occupancy, discharging a jet of fresh air into said conduit andthereby effecting intermixture of the withdrawn air and of the fresh air and inducing circulation of the withdrawn air through the conduit, and discharging the resulting mixture into the interior at a higher level so that the air is circulated through the zone of occupancy in its return to the level of withdrawal.

4. The method of supplying air to interiors and of effecting clrculation of such air through the zone of occupancy, which comprises withdrawing air 'fromthe interior at a plurality. of different places into a series of conduits, combining therewith in 5 each of the conduits a current of fresh air and discharging the resulting mixtures into the air being withdrawn and reintroduced at difierent levels so that circulation thereof is effected 'through,the zone of occupancy at a plurality of different", places in the intenor.

5. The method of supplyingair to interiors by the blast system, which consists insubjecting fresh air to directed movement to a point just prior to entry into the interior, then subjecting the fresh air to an injector action, and thereby drawing into mixture with it a comparatively. large volume of air from the interior, discharg: ing the mixture into the interior in a substantially horizontal direction, and causing the pressure and the suction produced by the injector devices upon the air drawn from the interior to be effective upon opposite sides ofthe zone .of accupancy of the interior and at points substantially in vertical alinement, thereby producing a continuous circulation of air in a vertical direction through the zone of occupancy of the inter1or.

'6. The method of supplying air to interiors by the blast system, which consists in subjecting fresh air to directed movement to apoint just prior to entry into the interior, at that point mixing the fresh air with a comparatively large volume of air from the interior, discharging the mixture of fresh air and air from the interior into the interior in a substantially horizontal direction, and supplying the air from the interior required for themixture by air withdrawn from the interior at a point on the side of the zone of occupancy opposite that at which the mixture is discharged into the interior, and'substantially in vertical alinement therewith, thereby causing a continuous circulation of the air in a vertical direction through the-zone of 

